For The First Time
by Kaybee0713
Summary: Set post "The Job" (03x23) and pre "Fun Run" (04x01). What happened when Pam and Jim finally got together? I know this has been done before, just wanted to do my take on it :) Multiple chapters. Will keep updating.
1. Chapter 1

_It's a date _he had said. _It's a date._

Pam played the scene over and over again in her head. She had been talking to the camera crew just 20 minutes ago in the conference room when Jim burst in.  
_Are you free for dinner?_ he had asked.  
She said yes.  
_Alright. Then...it's a date._

Jim couldn't believe what he was doing. Everything up until this point had been a blur. Eating breakfast in his hotel room with Karen this morning, his brief interview with David, sprinting out of the building, hastily breaking up with Karen in a cafe, getting in his car and driving back to Scranton. The moment of clarity came when he burst into the conference room where Pam was doing a talking head with the doc crew. He didn't care. He couldn't wait anymore.  
_Are you free for dinner? _he had asked.  
She said yes.  
_Alright. Then...it's a date._

Pam smiled to herself. She glanced up and watched the back of Jim's head through the window in Michael's office. How well she knew the back of his head, down to the last floppy lock of hair. She didn't know what he and Michael were talking about. All she knew was that tonight, she was going on a date with Jim. _Jim_. She was grinning like an idiot and quickly looked back down at the paperwork she was supposed to be filling out. _Dinner with Jim_. It was something so simple, yet it felt like the most important event in her entire life. She had dreamed about it for so long but had never fathomed it would actually happen. Pam was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even see Jim walking up to her desk.  
"You gonna get that?" he teased, grinning as she snapped her head up in surprise.  
"What? Oh...yeah." Pam hadn't even noticed the phone had been ringing. She cleared her throat and picked up the phone.  
"Dunder-Mifflin, this is Pam."  
Jim was rocking back and forth awkwardly against the reception desk. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he rested his forearms on top of the desk, tapping his fingertips. Pam was jotting something down on her notepad but kept glancing up at Jim with a small, questioning smile as she finished the phone call.  
"Okay, I'll have him get back to you first thing tomorrow morning. Thank you." Pam ended the call and hung up the phone, raising her eyebrow at Jim, who was still standing at her desk.  
"Can I help you with something, Halpert?" she teased.

"Yeah, I just wanna make sure we're still on for dinner tonight," he said quietly, so Dwight, sitting nearby, wouldn't hear.  
"You asked me literally 20 minutes ago. What would have changed?" she giggled at him.  
"I dunno, that's why I'm asking. I did ask you, right? It just feels so…"  
"Surreal?" Pam supplied. Jim gazed at her with those piercing green eyes and Pam felt her breath catch.  
"Yeah. Surreal," he breathed. He shook his head a little and grinned at her again.

"Pick you up at 7?"  
She winked at him. "Its a date."  
_

Jim sat back down at his desk and took a deep breath. _Whoa._

This was really happening. He was really going on a date with Pam.

Jim shook his head in disbelief and began stacking the papers on his desk, putting everything away for the weekend. Dwight glanced over and watched him organizing his things.  
"What happened, idiot?" he sneered. "Did you blow the interview? Guess corporate saw how incompetent you are without your pranks and your boyish charm. Idiot," he muttered.  
"Actually, I withdrew from consideration, but thanks for the support Dwight."  
"What? Dammit, Jim! I was so close to getting rid of you. Arrgh!" He banged his fist on his desk. Phyllis startled and glanced over.  
"Sorry, buddy," Jim said, smiling to himself.  
"Why on earth would you do something like that?" Dwight scoffed.  
Jim thought back on his conversation with David Wallace, sorting through the rush of the day in his head.

"_Do you have your quarterly numbers?" Wallace had asked, going on about the HR guy that he hated, assuring Jim that he would hate him too.  
As Jim dug the paperwork out of his bag, he noticed the note Pam had wrote him, with the yogurt lid attached._

'_Don't forget us when you're famous!' it had read.  
And suddenly, being there felt...wrong.  
He had tried to make it through the rest of the interview. David asked him how he thought he would function at corporate, and Jim had started rambling about New York- "the buildings, the people, the 'energy'"- lame. He told David his favorite part of working at Scranton was the friendships. And that was true. For one in particular. He looked down at Pam's note again, fighting the instinct to bolt out of the room.  
And then the question that changed everything.  
_"_Where do you see yourself in ten years?" David had asked.  
And all Jim could think about was Pam._

'_I don't think I ever really came back from Stanford.' Jim had said on the night at the beach.  
And Pam had said, 'Well, I wish you would.'_

"I just...couldn't see myself there for the long haul," Jim answered honestly.

Dwight just shook his head, baffled by Jim's stupidity. Jim glanced over at Pam out of the corner of his eye. She was zoned out, chin in hand, biting her lower lip as she worked through yet another game of Freecell. He smiled to himself as he ran David's question over again in his mind.  
He knew exactly where he wanted to be in 10 years.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Pam stood in front of her closet in despair. She couldn't wear any of her clothes on a date! Even the new ones she had recently bought online just didn't seem good enough for this occasion. This was her FIRST DATE WITH JIM. Pam took deep breath. Hastily she flipped through her clothes again, frowning at each item. Was this really what she looked like every day? Everything was so bland, so...frumpy. But there had been a reason for that. She bit her lip and pushed the thought out of her mind. No. The past was in the past, and she wasn't going to let it ruin her evening. She had been dreaming about this for so long. Pam glanced at her watch and gasped. 6:24. Already? She was running out of time. Panicking, she yanked the simple black dress hanging in the back of her closet off the hanger. Pam held it up against her body and studied her reflection in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door. She frowned again. Penny had bought her this dress to wear to her great-aunt's funeral nearly 5 years ago. Pam hadn't touched it since then. But she didn't have a choice. It would have to do. Carefully she slipped it on, pleased to see that it still fit her as well as it had all that time ago. She turned side to side in the mirror, noticing how it hugged her hips and the way it curved around her breasts. Maybe it wasn't so bad. She smiled a tiny smile and scurried to the bathroom to do her makeup.

Jim hung up the phone with a grin. He had been able to get a reservation at Pam's favorite restaurant, Cugino's. He checked the time. 6:48. In a few minutes, he would text Pam and tell her he was on his way. His hands felt clammy. This was unreal. He was going to dinner with _Pam. _He paced the floor of his bedroom for what felt like the 30th time. How long had he waited for this? Months. Years. Jim tried to imagine what Pam was doing at this very moment. Was she excited? Was she as nervous as he was? What was she wearing? What if she was already ready and waiting on him? _Crap. _Jim grabbed his cell phone from his dresser and pulled up Pam's number.

Hey, can't wait to see you. Ok if I head over? -J

He hit 'send' and checked his hair one more time. He still wasn't used to this haircut. He hoped it didn't look douchey. Pam loved his floppy hair. Maybe he should grow it back out. Did he smell okay? He was wearing some new cologne. He hoped she would like it. Jim loved the way Pam smelled. Not even her perfume. Her natural scent was so sweet and tantalizing and it made him dizzy just thinking about it. He jumped as he heard the _ping _of a new text message.

Ditto, Halpert. Ready when you are :) -P

Jim grinned at Pam's response. _Now or never,_ he thought to himself. Grabbing his car keys, he threw his jacket over his shoulder and took the bouquet of flowers from the fridge. Lilies. Pam loved lilies.

A knock on the door startled her. But then again, she had been expecting it. _It's Jim_, she told herself. She took one last look in the mirror, smoothing her hair down, and took a calming breath. _It's gonna be great_.

Pam walked through her tiny apartment and stopped at the front door. She paused for only a moment before she turned the lock and opened it.

There was Jim, tall and handsome and perfect. He was dressed in a charcoal-colored button down with a silver vest and dark jeans. His hair was still styled from his interview that morning and his bright green eyes seemed to stare into her soul. She tried to catch her breath. God, he was gorgeous.

"Hi." she smiled softly.

"Hi." he grinned back. Their eyes locked for a few moments before Pam remembered where she was. She broke their gaze and stepped aside.

"Please, come in," she gestured to the living room.  
Jim stepped over the threshold and entered her apartment. "Nice place," he said, looking around. It was small, but it was tidy and artfully decorated. And most importantly, it was all hers. She smiled.

"Thanks. I love it. And it's not far from work." _Not far from work? Ugh, like he really cares about location right now._ Pam was mortified.

Jim chuckled. "Bonus! And I love the paintings," he said, nodding to the wall above the couch. "Oh, these are for you," he said awkwardly, holding the flowers out towards her.  
Pam melted. "Jim, they're beautiful. I love lilies. How did you know?" she asked, taking them from him.  
"You mentioned it once."  
"Yeah, like 2 years ago!" she laughed in disbelief.  
"I know."

Pam blinked a few times, overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness. She smiled. "They smell lovely. I'm going to put them in some water, then we can go?"

Jim nodded. "No rush. We have reservations."

"Wow. Nice touch, Halpert." Pam was touched. Jim's kindness made her even more nervous. With clammy hands, she quickly opened a cupboard and took her only glass vase down from the top shelf. Placing it under the faucet, she filled it about halfway with water. Pam then unwrapped the bouquet from the tissue paper. Taking the kitchen scissors from the drawer next to the stove, she snipped the bottom of the stems and quickly placed them into the vase. Pam positioned the flowers so they fanned out from the center, lovingly placing the arrangement on her kitchen table. She caught Jim watching her out of the corner of her eye and smiled to herself.

"Sorry," she muttered, pulling the last petal into place. "I just wanted to do them justice."

"It's no trouble," Jim assured her with a grin. "So what's the verdict?"

"Perfect!" she declared. "Let's go."

Pam took her wrap and purse from the hook by the door.

"Wait, let me help you," Jim said quickly, taking them from her.

"Jim, it's okay, really-"  
"Please, Pam. I want to do this right," he murmured softly, gazing at her with a look she didn't know how to describe.

"Okay," she whispered happily, allowing Jim to settle the fabric around her shoulders, making sure not to crush her meticulously done curls. Pam draped the wrap over her arms, and Jim handed her her purse.

"Ready?" he asked her, and Pam was surprised to hear the nervousness in his voice.

"As I'll ever be," she answered, the fear and excitement in her voice matching his own.

"Alright," Jim smiled, taking her arm. "It's a date."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It took Jim a few moments to summon the courage to knock on the door. He was being ridiculous, he knew. _It's Pam,_ he kept telling himself. _It's just Pam._

But it wasn't _just Pam_ anymore. He knew that. Now she was _Pam._ Everything was different now.

On that note, Jim took a deep breath and knocked. It felt like forever before he heard the telltale click of the lock turning.

And then there she was.

Pam stood in the doorframe, all breathless and beautiful, her cheeks flushed with excitement. She was dressed in a form-fitting black dress with thin straps, exposing the pale skin of her shoulders. It hugged her figure and flared out just below her hips, where it settled and swished above her knees. Her normally-frizzy hair had transformed into soft amber waves that flowed down her back and around her shoulders, and her eyes shone behind dark lashes. Pam broke into a smile, and Jim noticed how white her teeth looked against the rose-colored lipstick she had applied.

She looked stunning.

Jim struggled to catch his breath. _Say something, Halpert!_

But Pam broke the silence between them. "Hi," she whispered happily.

"Hi." Jim grinned back at Pam, trying not to stare at her in that dress. They gazed at each other for a few moments, neither really knowing what to say, before Pam stepped back and invited Jim inside. He stepped into the tiny living room, taking in all the signs of her scattered around the house: the potted plant on a bookshelf near the window, a teapot on the stove, the paintings on the walls. It was _so Pam_. And it was lovely.

"Nice place," he told her, and he meant it.

Pam smiled happily and he felt his heart stop for the tenth time that night.

"Thanks, I love it," she gushed. "And it's not far from work." Pam's face flushed as she said that, her eyes widening in embarrassment. Jim chuckled. She was adorable.

"Bonus!" he exclaimed. "And I love the paintings," he said, gesturing to the one closest to him-a beach landscape at sunset. That's when he noticed the bouquet of lilies still in his hand. How did he not realize he was still holding these?! He thrust them awkwardly toward Pam.  
"Oh, uh, these are for you," Jim said, offering them to her. Pam's eyes gleamed and her smile softened.  
"Jim, they're beautiful. I love lilies! How did you know?" Jim shivered slightly as her fingers brushed his around the flower stems.

"You mentioned it once," he replied, recalling vividly that conversation they had had in the break room over a signature mixed-berry yogurt and ham-and-cheese sandwich lunch.

"Yeah, like 2 years ago!" Pam exclaimed, grinning with disbelief.

Jim shrugged and returned her smile. He remembered every fact he learned about Pam. This particular time, she had been lamenting over yet another wedding date that had come and gone. It was 2005, a few weeks before the doc crews had shown up. Pam had been wearing a blue cardigan. She always looked so lovely in blue.  
"I know."

Pam blinked a few times. Her expression changed to something unreadable, and Jim began to panic. But then she smiled again, and soon Jim's breathing returned to normal as we watched her flutter around the kitchen, preparing a vase with water and carefully cutting the flower stems to fit perfectly. Jim loved the care Pam took into arranging the bouquet just so, and as he stared at her, he felt like he could stay in that spot forever, never tiring of looking at her.

"Sorry," Pam mumbled, breaking Jim out of his trance. "I wanted to do them justice."

"It's no trouble," Jim reassured her. "What's the verdict?"  
"They're perfect," Pam smiled. "Let's go." She began gathering her things to leave.

"Wait," Jim said, moving closer to the door. "Let me help you."  
Pam began protesting, but Jim cut her off.

"Please, Pam," he said tenderly, gazing at her and thinking of all the times he had imagined doing this. "I want to do this right."

Pam paused. "Okay," she whispered happily, and allowed Jim to help her into her wrap. Jim took extra care to not ruin her hair. He knew she must have put a lot of time into it.

Jim took a deep breath. He was feeling nervous again.  
"Ready?" He asked Pam, hoping he sounded more confident than he actually was.

"As I'll ever be," she replied, a hint of nerves in her own voice as well.

"Alright," Jim smiled, taking Pams arm in a grand gesture, loving the way it made her giggle.

"It's a date."


End file.
